Nike is celebrating Team England's 2010 World Cup run with one of the most unique outdoor billboard adverts seen to date. Nike recently unveiled a giant billboard emulating Mount Rushmore that featured the faces of four (4) of England's prominently known soccer players. The billboard, completely made of rock, is the largest billboard in the UK, measuring 75m x 16m x 2m. The massive billboard, which supports Nike's "Write the Future" campaign, is expected to be seen by an astounding six (6) million consumers.

The only issue?

Three (3) of the players featured in the billboard campaign - Wayne Rooney, James Milner, and Rio Ferdinand - made the England World Cup team. However the 4th - Theo Walcott - did not. Ironically, Walcott's face will be featured in the rock sculpture display next to the word's "Play to be Remembered", but he will actually not be playing in the World Cup at all.

Nonetheless, the billboard serves as one of the greatest outdoor spectacles in sports and will be forever remembered by many in England and across the world for years to come... Not bad for a non-Official World Cup sponsor!

Are you looking for new, creative ways to promote the game of soccer? Are you looking to feature a non-traditional outdoor campaign in select markets?

Soccer properties looking for new ways to market their organization should consider benchmarking an outdoor marketing tactic Lotto used around the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The company creatively branded the side of an overpass to resemble a soccer goal that fans walked under towards one of the site locations where a World Cup match was being played.

Are you looking for a new way to drive attention to your organization's star athletes? Are you searching for new ways to implement a unique billboard campaign?

In 2007, Nike took its soccer branding to another level when it plastered a giant billboard of Bayern Munich's star player Franck Ribery on the side of the Catholic Church of St. Kajetan (commonly referred to as the Theatinerkirche). In the ad, Nike heralded Ribery (a new signee) as the new king of Bavaria, dressing him up in a king's garb for the campaign.

The campaign was very controversial on two (2) fronts:

For a few days, Nike positioned the ad on the side of the church (a very unlikely place to feature a billboard campaign)

Franck Ribery is muslim (which was controversial for some of the church's followers)

Nonetheless, it was a very interesting campaign that peaked the interest of many around the globe. It wouldn't be surprising to see Nike feature a similar ad for "King" LeBron James at the Buckingham Palace if the NBA continues its efforts into Europe and the Far East!

Are you looking to create a messaging campaign that demonstrates the passion of female athletes? Are you looking for a creative way to promote the game of soccer?

In early February, Gatorade plastered a giant billboard of Mia Hamm on the side of a building at Fountain Place in Dallas, Texas. The billboard campaign (part of Gatorade's new "G" messaging) does a great job portraying the passion and emotion Mia Hamm exemplified as a professional athlete. Check out the messaging campaign below:

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